One of the worst types of defensive blunders comes about when a player walks into a trap that has been deliberately set for him. Nothing, in fact, is so conducive to blundering as the belief that your opponent has blundered. Our powerful sense of ... Read more »
Have you ever realized how your ambitions change during the course of a game? When your opponent is attacking fiercely and when you are hard pressed, you'd be very glad to escape with a draw. Yet, a moment later, when the pressure has eas... Read more »
Agressive defense is good, if you can achieve it. Simplifying is good, if you can achieve it. But what do you do where neither of these methods is possible? In that case you must bide your time, not with passive squirming, but by constantly remain... Read more »
Of all the different kinds of mistakes in Chess, losing a won game is undoubtedly the most exasperating. No other mistake is more likely to rob you of self-confidence. Some players, when they have an advantage in material, seek complications inste... Read more »
Because Alexander Alekhine was probably the greatest tactician in the history of Chess, it is always interesting to read the comments of his opponents on his style. One significant observation is that, whereas in most tactical sequences it is the ... Read more »
Even the most persuasive swindles will sometimes be defeated by one artful check, as witness the following position from a game played in Iceland in 1949. Max Euwe, a former World Champion has been completely outplayed. He is behind in material an... Read more »
Pins are often so powerful that it becomes a matter of habit to think of them as invincible. They are not. That is the sad discovery that Black makes in the following position: Black's position is anything but inviting, his King is u... Read more »
In the following position, we can see once more what can happen when a player sets up a pitfall for his opponent but overlooks weakness in his own side. The position arose in a match game played in 1888. White has the problem of guarding... Read more »
In the following position White has two pawns for the exchange, so that material is approximately even. If Black is to seek a win, it must be on some combinative basis. Yet the position of his Rook on g4 is an awkward one, for it is pinned by the ... Read more »
This game was contributed by Mike Ardrey to the June 2008 issue of "Chess Life" Magazine. These are Mr. Ardrey's comments in his own words: "My thanks to GM Andy Soltis for his tribute to GM Al Horowitz in th... Read more »
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